redshiftlogs | persona non grata. [OPEN]

Entry tags:

persona non grata. [OPEN]

WHO: Rey and you!
WHAT: After keeping her distance for a while, Rey runs into the inevitable -- other people. And also an obsessive mutant cat that seems to follow her wherever she goes.
WHERE: All over Anchor.
WHEN: Month of October.

NOTES: I have a strong preference towards prose but I can handle brackets as well!

i. Bar;

There were periods in which Rey would spend days without seeing or communicating with another person. An unhealthy habit for sure, but it was something she had become used to during her period in the sky prison, carefully evading the synthetic wards among the labyrinthine corridors and inner tunnels and pipes. For someone as heavy and lumbering as Rey, she was surprisingly agile and stealthy. It also helped that she had plenty of experience in knowing where to go and how to avoid being seen.

Right now she's not spending much effort in doing so. After all, she's found that this isn't in fact the sky prison. There's no IV or synthetic sentry in sight, as far as she can tell. If there were... Well, she would just have to deal with them as they came.

Today, she just wants a drink or twenty. Except every time she orders, the fucking robot bartender gets her order wrong. And it couldn't have possibly gotten her order more wrong if it threw its memory core through a trash compactor where it belonged.

"Useless heap of fuck-metal shit," Rey seethes as she tosses the tequila sunrise aside. "Don't you know how to-- AUGH."

Luckily, she's not too drunk to avoid ducking in time as another tequila sunrise goes sailing over her head, intended for her face. The glass shatters against the wall, spilling liquor across the floor and then some.

Hissing between her teeth, Rey straightens herself immediately, fingers balled into fists as her eyes widen at the robot. "You motherfucker, you planned that, didn't you!"

Honestly, you just can't trust robots. None of them.

ii. Mess Hall;

Much like her social habits, eating is something Rey has been putting off for a while. There's plenty of water and booze at the bar, but you can only go on for so long on a liquid diet before the body starts to crave for something more.

Rey, on the other hand, could stave off those urges for months if she had to. If she had to being the key phrase here. Once it became glaringly obvious that she doesn't have to starve herself in order to evade whatever authority or presence here, or if it even matters to do so at all, she finally takes the risk to venture deeper into the depths of the city for something more than just scouting the vicinity. She could survive without food and water longer than a human, but that doesn't mean the urge doesn't creep up on her after a few weeks. Then, once again, it's about survival rather than obstinacy and pride.

Upon arriving there, however, she's not quite sure what to do with herself anymore. She's never cooked before, at least never any complicated meals that didn't come already prepped out of a can. She grimaces at the pre-made options, most which look to be well passed their expiration.

"Wehhhh," comes a whiny voice at her heel.

Rey looks down to see the same one-eyed tripedal feline bumping its head against her knee. It's been following her after she ran into some other weirdo at the bar, and she hasn't been able to shake the thing ever since. It doesn't take an animal person to assume what it probably wants, though. "Guess you must be hungry, huh?"

Naturally, the cat doesn't answer, though you never know. The last saptient being pretending to be just another animal turned out to be pretty wordy in the end.

No such luck this time. Just another flat "weehhh" as the feline sits on its hindquarters to paw at her with its one front paw. Chances are more likely that it's trying to urge her to care for herself first, but hell if Rey is going to take that hint.

iii. Bottom Levels;

Despite a perfectly functional barracks in the upper floors, Rey doesn't make herself known there. Being in places where people can expect to find her, where she can be easily tracked, is not something she is accustomed to. It's better to make herself scarce wherever possible. Don't get comfortable. Keep moving. No use in getting attached to whatever lifestyle they're expected to have here. And she refuses to become a complacent little hamster in a cage. No, that's not her. She won't let it happen; not if she has a say in the matter.

What few hours of sleep she allows herself ends up being in the most awkward places. Sometimes she can be found at the plaza or park, eyes mostly closed, only peering through slits as she stands in the middle of a walkway or shoulder leaning against a wall -- quietly snoring and drooling a little out the corner of her mouth until she's nudged awake by a concerned or amused passersby.

Other times she is pouring over what remains of the library, though barely able to keep herself cognizant of the words in front of her before nodding off at a desk. From time to time she'll jolt herself awake, slamming her forehead against the tabletop.

That damned cat might be accompanying her again, pawing and nudging at her as if trying to communicate some message that she refuses to diciper. Honestly, she figured that it would have moved on by now once it realized she had nothing special to offer it, but no matter what she does the animal always seems to find its way back to her. It would be annoying if it didn't also didn't help keep her awake at the same time. Small miracles, indeed.

iv; Wildcard

[ooc: Have something else in mind you'd like to do with Rey, or none of the above suit your fancy? Make your own or hit me up! Also feel free to check out my CR meme comment for info/ideas.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Having sensed someone approaching several minutes ago, Tripod is abrupt to make himself scarce. The second Rey looks back down to look for the cat, it's gone.

That happens sometimes; she doesn't question it. It's not like she's ever owned any pets before to recognize what's normal behavior or what they're trying to communicate. Maybe the animal finally wisened up and sought companionship with someone more appropriate than a wandering defect.

Unlikely, but she can throw a few guesses.

Rey's thoughts are forced back into the present when she finds herself retreating a few steps away from the bath of an absentmindedly moving cart and the girl pushing it. She just stares at first -- eyes, underlined by dark rings, darting from the cart of food to the teenager introducing herself.

If nothing else, Ami doesn't act like someone who already knows Rey. Not yet, anyway.

Her gaze holds another moment, mute as she just takes another cautious step back, more defensive than aggressive for now.

"Ah, thanks...? Name's Rey," she chokes out, awkward both in her delivery and robotic cadence. "You work in here?"

At any rate, she'd probably trust a kid's cooking over a robot's.

Ah... Rey seems really nervous and awkward, doesn't she? Well, that's understandable, Ami decides. Arriving in Anchor is a scary experience, and everybody handles it differently. All she can do is try to make the transition a little easier on them, help them feel welcome.

"Sort of? I mean, it's not like a formal job or anything," she explains. "But I do help Cho clean up after mealtimes, yes. A bunch of people do, so it goes pretty quick." Then she has a thought that makes her chuckle. "You know, it's funny - normally when I run into somebody new, I start by showing them where the food is. But apparently you have beaten me to it!"

So, people delegate the roles to one another rather than relying on the robots to do everything for them. Judging by the upkeep of this place, that's probably for the best. Unfortunately, anywhere this large would require a significantly larger staff on hand to keep everything in top shape. Rey could spend days here without running into a single soul. On the plus side, it means fewer mouths to feed. Less to worry about.

"Eh, yeah." Rey strains her mouth to force a toothy, lopsided grin. Or what's supposed to be one, as it's more apparent that she hasn't made much use of her facial muscles recently. "Just took about a month to get to it..."

It's not like she hadn't eaten anything at all in that time; food and sleep just weren't high priorities until she realized it was going to be a problem soon. Oops.

Ami's eyes widen. Rey's got to be pulling her leg, right? "Wait, seriously? Have you actually not eaten in a month??"

Because if not, how are you not dead? How are you not a skeleton right now, ma'am? Does she need a doctor? Shit, we don't have a real doctor, do we.

That's about the sort of reaction Rey expected.

"Well, was able to drink at the bar... People can survive for a few weeks without food." Three weeks, to be exact -- and Rey wasn't normal people, so she was equipped to truck on for longer without food, drink, and sleep.

Unfortunately, that also means that even she has her limits. A few power naps here and there doesn't equal a full rest, neither does a liquid diet supply her with nutrients to stay in peak condition. It would take a lot for such deprivation to actually kill her, but to willingly subject herself to that isn't necessary.

Rey, no, man does not live on alcohol alone...! Ami isn't sure how long humans can live without food, but a whole month has got to be at the outside. If she were really thinking about it, maybe it would start to seem incongruous that Rey's still got so much muscle on her when her body should have started consuming it a while ago. Buuut, she's not really thinking so much as panicking, at this point.

"Yeah, but, like... you don't have to. We have enough for everybody, you could've just..."

She doesn't get it. Why would anybody starve themselves to death on purpose? Oh geez, what should she do? Her instinct is to just give Rey as much food as she wants, but she is like 95% sure she's read that is the absolute worst thing you can do for a starving person.

After a moment of uncertain hemming and hawing, shifting from foot to foot, she makes up her mind, and comes forward to try and take Rey's hand. "C'mon. We gotta get you to the Medbay, like, now-"

Shit, Rey should have known better than to open her mouth. She's supposed to be tired and hungry, not stupid.

Exhaling a sharp breath, she brings up both hands in front of her defensively as though putting a wall between her and Ami.

"Not a big deal. Have gone for longer without food and sleep." Fuck, that's probably not a good thing to say, either. It would be easy for one to make assumptions that there were other underlying concerns there. "You're right -- don't have to. Just want to grab something to eat and leave."

Where to go after that, she hasn't thought that far ahead yet. But the last place she wants to linger in is a medbay.

"You haven't slept in a month, either?" Ami says, incredulous. Okay, Rey has to be exaggerating now. There is absolutely no way you can survive a whole month without sleeping.

Whatever the case, though, she can't just let the woman grab some food and leave. If she does, what's to say they won't find her body somewhere in another month? Ami has to put her foot down.

Okay. She spreads her feet shoulder-width and places her hands on her hips in a classic power stance, though her voice is upbeat and determined. "Miss Rey. I would like nothing more than to feed you, but I need to know first that you will not just barf it back up! So, we are going to the Medbay, that part is non-negotiable. We can do it the easy way, or the hard way."

Ami is maybe 120 pounds, so it's unclear what "the hard way" entails.

Only slightly exaggerating, really. "In between a couple hours of sleep here and there, yeah..."

That probably doesn't help her case very much. Rey's survival mode still hasn't quite turned off since she arrived, and her instincts are still functioning like she expects enemies to ambush her around a corner if she isn't careful. If she lets her guard down, something will come along and take advantage of that.

Rey's expression shifts from incredulous to forced neutral when Ami brings up a 'hard way'. With a tight-lipped look, she just stares the shorter, much lighter girl down. Her muscular arms then fold over her chest, revealing herself to be less like some starved prisoner of war and more of the soldier lady that she is.

"Listen. When you're trained and equipped to function on the barest, most minimal conditions for survive, then you can start barking orders. Until that happens, step off."

She's not overly harsh or drill-sergeant-strict when she speaks. Just a firm tone from a hungry lady who is way too tired to be dealing with this shit right now.

... Phooo, that ... did not work at all. Uncertain, Ami makes a feeble attempt to continue the bluff. "Uh. No, but - I am a powerful psychic, and..."

Nope, she can't do it. That took all the wind out of her sails. Ami deflates, defeated. "No, I'm not. That's a lie."

Goddddd, she can't convince anybody of anything, can she. Why is she so bad at this? Maybe she just... took Rey at her word too readily, and got punked. Lady sure doesn't look starved. So... maybe it's fine. It's probably fine. Rey will probably not have a bad reaction to eating and die, but if she does, it is out of Ami's hands.

"I guess you can just... take whatever," she grumbles. "There's a robot in the back who can cook you something, I guess, but I don't know how to start him."

A shadow of disappointment catches her expression when Ami makes a passing comment about psychic powers, but she caves before Rey could expect anything. "Too bad. Would have been neat."

She could always use her Brísingamen to just melt any opposition in her way, though it'd likely just take more effort than she's willing to bother with on teenagers.

"This body was made to sustain itself on minimal rest and nutrients, if it makes you feel any better," Rey finally admits. She really doesn't have to tell Ami this; she sure as hell isn't under any obligation to let her down gently. But she wants to. "Could hike several hundred kilometers on a protein square if it was necessary."

Good thing that it isn't necessary right now, but Rey's just going to help herself to that serving cart, thank you very much.

Sure, yeah. Help yourself to the literal fruits of her labor, that's fine. This is fine.

Ami sighs quietly, stepping aside to let Rey have at it. It's not like she can stop her, obviously. But she's still sort of curious what this lady's deal is, and this hasn't gone so badly that she wants to cut and run just yet. Rey's phrasing just now was weird, for starters. This body was made - what does that mean?

"... I was operating under the assumption you had regular human dietary needs," she admits after a moment. "Are you a human?"

Hell yeah, fruit! It's not Rey's favorite thing, but it's more than she's had for the last few months -- even before coming here. She's making a small pile onto a plate when Ami pops the magic question.

"Nope," Rey quips simply with the shrug of a shoulder. "Well, not technically. More of a Frankenstein's monster, really."

Ah. Ami is, of course, well-versed in the gothic horror of Mary Shelley. Is that what's with all the scars? No, wait, that's probably a bad way to ask.

"So, like... put together from a bunch of different humans, but the whole is greater than the sum of your parts?" she tries cautiously. The monster did have phenomenal strength and stamina, if that's what she's getting at. Although there are also the themes of isolation and despair, and the terrible loneliness of a grotesque body hiding an all-too-human heart...

She assumes Rey is not talking about the themes.

Edited 2019-11-22 16:12 (UTC)

It's a relief that Ami seems to get the reference; Rey's getting a hang of being able to gauge which people might understand the things she's saying and which ones might give her blank stares. Not always, but some.

"Something like that," is all Rey says at first.

She pauses, before taking her first bite of fruit. The taste is completely new. Alien, even. She'd been deprived of a sense of taste for so long that everything, even the blandest, most mundane things tastes like life to her. It's almost enough to bring a tear to her eye before she forces her own composure, not daring to lose control of herself in front of a stranger. A child, for that matter.

After a moment, she finally swallows the fruit down, using her free hand to dry a green eye, now like emeralds. She's not crying, you're crying. "This shit's pretty good, hhh."

... Is she ... crying? All right, Ami officially has no idea what Rey's deal is. She seems like this big tough lady, but then she bites into a weird fruit and suddenly she's on the verge of tears. Part of Ami still wants to try and help, but given how badly her last attempt at "helping" went ...

"Um. Yeah." She checks which fruit that was - smooth, nearly spherical, white on the outside, but the inside is a rich mottled purple, glistering with moisture. "That's a geode fruit," she says. "Or that's what we decided to name it, anyway. Because of how it sparkles."

She looks through the cart for a second and produces a cluster of sky-blue berries, which she offers to Rey after plucking a couple for herself. "I'm liking the cloudberries, myself," she says. They're surprisingly lightweight for their size, and have a soft, spongy texture, but they're very sweet. Ami pops one in her mouth, keeping a cautious eye on Rey's reaction.

Paradoxes follow Rey like a bad habit. Underneath the muscles and scars are facets that betray her seemingly hardened impression. She rubs the moisture from her eyes before taking another bite in thought. It's harder to cry when you swallow; she can manage that much.

"You people name these, or is there some kind of index left behind about all the weird shit growing here?" Rey asks, accepting Ami's offering as she continues to finish what is left of what is apparently called a... geode fruit.

Not bad.

"No, we named them. I put a call out for ideas, but it was me and Elleru who did most of it." She shrugs. "Maybe an index is a good idea, though. We're definitely gonna forget some of them."

God, between this and Peter lowkey asking for help to delegate tasks around here in order to keep this damned place running... Where would the people be without ideas?

"Er, yeah, should probably get on that. These phones we've got are shitty but there might be some way to customize an app to install on them."

Programming was never her thing, though.

Ami blinks, but then waves off the suggestion with a sheepish laugh. "Oh! No, I just meant on paper! I don't know anything about programming, haha."

The thought pops into her head, unbidden, that programming was more Sollux's thing. Yeah, thanks, Aradia, that was relevant as always.

"Someone here probably does. Not really a programmer either, but am handy with tech." She cants her head as she eats another delicious fruit, this time more distracted than to shed tears. "Know a guy who could figure out programming just by plugging his head into a computer. Too bad he's not here."

Rey doesn't even feel guilty for thinking that, seeing as Tejinder wasn't in much of a better situation with the synthes than she was.

Plugging his head in? "Like in the Matrix?" Ami asks, idly chomping on another cloudberry.

Rey just squints.

"Incredibly outdated reference aside... yeah. Guess it's something like that."

Most people from her time would more likely balk at Ami, but the memories of Rey's past selves go far enough back that the connection is not lost on her. At least they're good for something.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

persona non grata. [OPEN]

Re: the messiest of halls

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject